Rt. Hon. Justine Kasule Lumumba

Minister for General Duties

Mr. Edward Walugembe

Commissioner / SCI

Objectives:

To strengthen Institutional Framework for Coordination of Policy and Programme implementation in government.

Outputs:

  1. Government policy implementation coordinated;
  2. Sector/Program wide coordination strengthened;
  3. International Commitments coordinated; and
  4. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)/Private Sector interests coordinated

Key Activities

Government policy implementation coordination

  1. National Coordination Policy operationalized
  2. The National Development Plan Coordinated
  3. Progress report on the implementation of recommendations of the Presidential Investors’ Table produced
  4. Joint Public Sector Management Review (JPSMR) conducted.
  5. The National Nutrition Policy Developed
  6. The National Advocacy and Communication Strategy, for the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) operationalized
  7. Nutrition Forum held
  8. Public Sector Management -Sector BFP developed.

Key Achievements

  1. Organized and facilitated the National Partnership Forum. This developed an agenda for inculcating results across Government
  2. Developed a Cabinet Memorandum with recommendations relating to key policy issues of;
    1. Deciding the home for home training institutions,
    2. The sale of expired human and animal drugs and
    3. Taxation of milk and agricultural machinery and milk.
  3. Developed a Presidential Investors Round Table progress implementation report for Phase V.
  4. Disseminated the coordination framework for implementing SDGs to Cabinet and Parliamentarians.
  5. Developed a draft PSM-Joint review report which provide measures on strengthening the Sector Working Groups.
  6. Facilitated the approval of the National Coordination Policy by Cabinet
  7. Facilitated the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in Uganda. These have been aligned to the National Development Plan II and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Uganda.
  8. Generated a draft report, indicating the progress made in implementing recommendations of PIRT and Minerals Value Addition Sub-Sector.
  9. Produced a report on the implementation of GAPR recommendations of which was included in the GAPR report
  10. Constituted and operationalized the PIRT technical working groups. These deliberate on the modalities of operationalizing the PIRT phase IV recommendations.
  11. Finalized and submitted the PSM Sector Budget Framework Paper for to the Ministry of Finance planning and Economic Development.
  12. Held the African Day for Food and Nutrition Security
  13. Finalized the A concept note for the development of the PSM-Sector Development Plan and initiated the resource mobilization strategy
  14. Drafted a draft action plan for the Ugandan Child and the day for the State of the Ugandan Child was commemorated.
  15. Developed an issues paper with the key crosscutting issues that affect Sectoral performance.
  16. Drafted a framework for coordinating the implementation of the NDP that will be operationalized through a series of Sector Engagement workshops that are to discuss the level of alignment of sector plans to the NDP II.
  17. Finalized consultations with Ministry of internal Affairs and the NGO Forum in which It was agreed to have a Joint Forum for all NGOs.
  18. Finalized a data base of NGOs partnering with OPM and the first engagement.
  19. Finalized the regional Consultations for the development of the National Nutrition Policy.
  20. Hired a consultant to develop the National Nutrition Policy
  21. Finalized the Nutrition stakeholder activity mapping exercise
  22. Agreed on a framework for coordination and implementation of the UNDAF
  23. Constituted the inter-ministerial committee for implementing the Uganda Family Planning –Costed Implementation Plan.
  24. Discussed The final report on implementation of the recommendations from the Presidential retreat on the Minerals Sector in Statehouse in August and subsequently a new phase of implementation launched with new undertakings

 

BACKGROUND:

The Presidential Investors’ Round Table (PIRT), which is chaired by H.E the President, is a high level forum that brings together a select group of both foreign and local investors to advise Government on how to improve the investment climate in the country.

The PIRT process and engagement, which is coordinated by the Rt. Honourable Prime Minister in collaboration with UIA, has continued to grow and develop since its launch in 2004. Previous PIRT Phases have focused on selected strategic thematic areas namely:

PIRT Phase I (2004 to 2006):

  1. i) Agribusiness,
  2. ii) Information and Communications Technology,

iii) Education,

  1. iv) Infrastructure,
  2. v) the Regulatory Environment.

 PIRT Phase II (2007 to 2009): 

  1. i) Agriculture (Forestry, Biotechnology and Agro processing),
  2. ii) ICT/Business Processing Outsourcing,

iii) Business Climate,

  1. iv) Mining and Petroleum,
  2. v) Tourism.

 PIRT Phase III (2009 to 2012): 

  1. i) Agricultural Production and Value Addition,
  2. ii) Competitiveness in Doing Business,

iii) Transport and Logistics,

  1. iv) E-Government,
  2. v) Creative Industry,
  3. vi) Petroleum (Oil and Gas)

 PIRT Phase III (2013 to 2015)

  1. i) Agriculture Development,
  2. ii) Information and Communications Technology,

iii) Oil and Gas

JUSTIFICATION:

The Presidential Investors Round Table is used as a vehicle for Public Private Dialogue. It acts a business – government coordination mechanism. The work of PIRT also helps development partners especially World Bank`s private sector development and investment climate programmes. PIRT`s are also undertaken in various African Countries including; Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania.

CURRENT STATUS:

PIRT Phase V (2015 to 2017): was launched on Wednesday 19th August 2015 and focuses on four thematic areas namely

  1. i) Energy and Petroleum (Oil and Gas),
  2. ii) Minerals and Mineral Beneficiation,

iii) Tourism

  1. iv) Uganda`s Competitiveness and ease of doing Business.

Each area is handled by a Technical Working Group of private and public sector members.  The Secretariat Team is composed of UIA Staff who render services (sector specific research, document review, initiating meetings, advising the Chair, linking private sector and Government, etc.) to various Technical Working Groups (TWG) formed along thematic lines above.

The Office of the Prime Minister and UIA continues to coordinate the process with Africa Matters headed by Baroness Lynda Chalker, the project consultant.

Some of the remarkable policy outcomes from the various PIRTs are detailed below:

REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT (COMPETITIVENESS IN DOING BUSINESS)

  1. Formation of a PIRT Cabinet Implementation Committee chaired by The Rt. Hon Prime Minister.
  2. Establishment of the One Stop Centre at Uganda Investment Authority
  3. Construction of the Kampala Industrial and Business Park in Namanve
  4. Creation of the Credit Reference Bureau
  5. Enactment of several commercial laws i.e. company law, Free Zones Law, Capital Markets law, Insolvency Act, Trade Marks Act, Partnership Act
  6. Liberalization of the Pension sector
  7. The Ministry of Public Service issued performance contracts to Top Level Management in Ministries
  8. A study to establish the infrastructure fund was undertaken
  9. Autonomy of the Uganda Registration Services Bureau was realized
  • Computerization of the Land Registry

AGRICULTURE AND AGRIBUSINESS

  1. Increase of levy in export of raw hides and skins
  2. Putting in place the agricultural loan guarantee scheme in commercial banks
  3. Re-capitalization of Uganda Development Bank
  4. Extension of support to seed producers (Agro-Genetic Technology Ltd and Victoria Seeds Ltd)
  5. Enactment of the Plant Protection and Variety Act
  6. Establishment of the Phosphate multi product development project in Sukuru – Tororo
  7. Establishment of a high quality laboratory with seed testing technology at Namalere
  8. Elevating Kituuza into a fully-fledged National Coffee Research Institute
  9. Kituuza in Mukono has been elevated to a fully-fledged National Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI) and this has greatly enhanced the research capacity in the coffee industry.
  • Government has established a high quality laboratory with seed testing technology at Namalere. This facility will facilitate identification of fake inferior seeds.
  • The Plant and Seed Act 2006 has been operationalized, initially, by constituting the National Seed Board. The National Variety Release Committee and the National Seed Certification Services Unit have been established and are functional.

PETROLEUM, OIL AND GAS

  1. Establishment of the Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba
  2. Enactment of the Petroleum laws and drafting of the Petroleum regulations.
  3. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development signed an MOU on the commercialization plan with licensed Oil companies.
  4. Establishment of the Petroleum Regulatory Authority
  5. A lead Investor to develop the oil refinery was selected – RT Global Resources Consortium
  6. EAC partner states are working on a feasibility study to assess the most economic route for the crude oil export pipeline.
  7. Another round of licensing was opened
  8. Development of the TC 16 standards for the oil and gas sector. 30 standards out of which 20 standards have been approved by the National Council for Standards; these standards cover petroleum exploration, development, production, refining and transportation.

MINING AND VALUE ADDITION

  1. Government revised the Extraction Industry Tax regime. The approved tax amendments were pronounced in the 2015/16 Budget
  2. Uganda Investment Authority is ready to allocate up to 100 acres of land to investors in the mining value addition sector for investment purposes in different parts of the country.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

  1. Operationalization of the National Information Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U)
  2. Enactment of the Cyber Laws of Uganda
  3. Implementation of the National Identity Card Project
  4. Creation of the Intellectual Property special units in police
  5. The Uganda ICT Association was formed
  6. Uganda secured its own national Internet Protocol address infrastructure
  7. Significant reduction in broadband through attraction of key players such as Secom, TATA whose presence reduces middlemen in connection to the undersea cable.

TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS

  1. Investment in a wide gauge railway network
  2. Revision of exclusive rights agreements in the air service industry

HEALTH SECTOR

  1. Decongestion of Mulago Hospital

Adoption of the SDG 2030 Agenda in Uganda

After the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, Uganda is one of the first countries that participated in the first High-Level Political Forum in 2016 where it prepared and presented its first National Voluntary Review Report. Uganda, therefore, holds a great symbolic position in the implementation and achievement of SDGs globally.

In 2016, the Government of Uganda developed a framework to guide the Coordination of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its associated SDGs under the leadership of the Office of the Prime Minister. This framework was approved by Cabinet and Parliament and it brings together all players both state and non-state actors including local governments to deliver on the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.

The National SDG Coordination Framework provides for five multi-stakeholder Technical Working Groups (TWGs) comprising of Sector Working Groups (SWGs); Development Partners; Private Sector; and Civil Society. The TWGs are the backbone of the SDG Coordination Framework and they meet quarterly and submit the required reports to the SDG Secretariat to inform and drive SDG implementation in Uganda.

SDG Coordination Structure

  1. Policy Coordination Committee (PCC): This is the highest structure, and has the mandate to review implementation and provide policy guidance. It is chaired by the Prime Minister and it comprises of Members of Cabinet and Heads of Cooperation and Agencies.
  2. Implementation Steering Committee (ISC): This is responsible for reviewing progress and recommending policy proposals to the PCC. This committee is chaired by the Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet and it is comprising of Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Agencies. ISC meets twice a year.
  3. National SDG Taskforce: This comprises of technical officers from lead agencies of the Technical Working Groups (TWGs) chaired by the Permanent Secretary of OPM.
  4. Technical Working Groups (TWGs): These include the following:

(i)Coordination, M&E & Reporting TWG chaired by the Office of the Prime Minister

(ii) Planning & Mainstreaming TWG chaired by National Planning Authority;

(iii) Resource Mobilization & Financing TWG,

(iv) Data TWG chaired by Uganda Bureau of Statistics

(v) Communication and Popularization TWG chaired by Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and National Guidance.

These TWGs meet quarterly to review progress and report to the National Taskforce.

  1. Sector Working Groups (SWG): Includes all the 17 sectors of Government.

The SWGs are chaired by high-level technical officers of the Sector Lead Agencies. Other members include technical officers, at director level or heads of departments of MDAs in the sector, civil society, Local Governments (LG) and private sector.

The Coordination Framework is operationalised through a costed multi-year National SDG Roadmap. The Roadmap provides a list of priority actions to create an enabling environment to deliver on the SDGs at national, sector and local level.

In 2018, the National SDG Task force developed and launched a costed National SDG Road map which contains priority actions to catalyze the implementation of SDGs across the country in October 2018. The road-map aligns and synchronizes approaches and efforts of government and all stakeholders for the strategic attainment of the SDG’s. This road map is guiding the implementation of the coordination framework of SDGs.

The SDG Secretariat

In order to accelerate the implementation of SDGs in Uganda, Cabinet and the United Nations Country Team agreed to establish an SDG Secretariat in 2019 and designated the SDG Focal Point Minister, Hon. Karoro Okurut who is the Minister for General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister. The Minister provides overall political leadership for SDG through presentation of reports on SDG implementation and policy recommendations to Cabinet. 

About the SDG Secretariat

Opened in April 2019, the SDG Secretariat supports the government, United Nations, Civil Society, Private Sector, and Academia in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Secretariat is headed by Dr. Albert Byamugisha as The Senior Technical Adviser. The SDG Secretariat is housed under the Office of the Prime Minister and is mandated to;

    • Steer the coordination function, support, oversee and harmonize the implementation of the SDG coordination framework;
    • Coordinate monitoring and assessment of local implementation and progress of the SDG 2030 Agenda in Uganda;
    • Build Strategic Partnerships with Private Sector on financing and innovation for SDGs;
    • Provide technical support, advice and expertise to the MDAs, private sector, civil society and academia to accelerate the implementation of the SDG agenda; and
    • Be the hub of SDG information and data for the government of Uganda and other stakeholders.

The SDG Coordination framework is currently being supported by the government of Uganda and the United Nations Country Team through the Resident Coordinator’s office.